Our heating packed up early this week so I got out the wood and lit a fire - nice and cosy. AND the plummer came and we only had to wait8h for the part needed after he had put in a replacement part it didn't need.

Our hot water is on a separate system with an immersion heater. It worked last night when I filled me hot water bottle. This morning not a drop!!!! Not even cold water coming fron the hot tank!

This does not bode well. It froze overnight and no plummer is available and I fear that the cold water that displaces the hot and thus makes it come out of the tap has frozen. The pipe run is on an outer wall and I'm not sure it is lagged well enough if at all.

Still got cold water in the cold tap so perhaps all is not that bad if it comes from the same pipework - but this is ME we're talking about so it probably is. Bugger!!!!

It is an interminable wait for a telephone call from the plummer, it is Friday, Bugger!!! And I really have to be somewhere else today.Bugger!!!! It's the weekend tomorrow which means double time Bugger!!!!!!!

Looks like you'll have to take a few down otherwise your attempt at going straight will fail miserably.

Plumber arrived and is currently thawing out a pipe which does no seem to have expanded and split. So out with the lagging (we moved in 2 months ago) that the previous owner didn't see fit to install. Fill in hole in wall that lets in the cold air and until I get the lagging some old covers will do and I might leave a bulb lit near it at night.

Now, Ellie, talking of secrets, that bit about leaving it dripping to stop it seizing up, if it really works does that mean that I have to buy a pair of incontinence pants? No chance of finding a pair at the week-end in Normandy. Not sure what the Normans do with them but there are a lot of plastic looking covers on some of the Market Gardens to protect them from the frost.

Europe assistance plumber arrived at 19.45pm. Talk about gormless, nobody could have less gorm than he.

Anyhow the pipe thing is an overflow which goes to the outside whee it empties on to the lawn. He said all sorts of things and buggered off without doing anything. So I figured it must be about the same prob as the other day and I got out the hair drierto heat it up and sho nuff the overflow pipe emptied. Stuck some lagging aound the pipes and now hoping fo the best.

Next I have to solve the issue of electic shocks below the sink!!! Eathing issue I think.

Thanks Inchy - no leaks yet today and radiators are still warm. All in all it hasn't been a good 18 months for plumbing, both household and personal.

There are however some pleasant things going on.

15cms of snow this morning so I put out some food for the birds. This rewarded me with a flock of Chaffinches and Greenfinches, lots of tits and particularly a couple of Long-Tailed Tis who come and knock on the windows for some reason. The prize ornithological display though was two pairs of Bullfinches. These have become less common in Britain but around here there are lots of orchards where they go in spring to guzzle the flower buds. Another pleasant surprise was a Goldcrest in the Fir tree.

Been out to feed the pigeons, that's all we get here. Been over to see Stewart a while ago. His house is lovely and warm, but he was watching Heartbeat on the box, so I asked him if he wanted any shopping or cooking doing, but he said no.

Back now, fed the pigeons again.

The back door is frozen shut.

Got a couple of new welts come underneath the finger nails, but at the same time, some others have disappeared!

Take care Sir, I hope things continue to improve on both waterworks departments for you.

As French heating tanks are mains fed sealed units, every time your water heats up there will be up to 3% expansion of the water inside it. The group de securite opens to allow the excess to escape rather than splitting the tank. This is quite normal and the excess will expel to a drain pipe.

There is a way to prevent this leakage happening by fitting a 'vase de expansion sanitaire' between the groupe de securite and the hot water tank inlet.

Your plumber will know what it it, and it's a fairly simple job to do.

Still a foot of snow here in the Charante.

And as the baby rabbit of hope emerges into the soft sunlight of happiness to be confronted with the double barrels of reality

Thanks for the advice mate. I thought it must be something idiosyncratic to the frogs never having seen quite anything like it in Britain.

Seems to work ok dripping into the pipe and hence to the lawn but when I get some dough I'll think about that. A question though is that the water is unnecessarily hot in our 'ballon de chauffage' don't they ever fit thermostats one can adjust? As it is it seems to be set at about 85 which is just downright dangerous. In our last place 50-60 was just about right. I can see you'll have to come and stay and give me some advice how to keep the bills down.

The French it seems to me, although pioneers with drains have been less so with electricity gas and water. In some of the old places the set up is just scary.

Quote: churchmouse

Lynton,

The thing under your hot water tank is a 'group de securitie'.

As French heating tanks are mains fed sealed units, every time your water heats up there will be up to 3% expansion of the water inside it. The group de securite opens to allow the excess to escape rather than splitting the tank. This is quite normal and the excess will expel to a drain pipe.

There is a way to prevent this leakage happening by fitting a 'vase de expansion sanitaire' between the groupe de securite and the hot water tank inlet.

Your plumber will know what it it, and it's a fairly simple job to do.

Assuming that it's a common make, there should be a plastic cover on the bottom of it, normally held on by 3 screws. - remove the cover, and you should see a round plastic fitting about 2" in diameter. (This is the arse-end of the thermostat. In the middle of it there will be a small flimsy looking plastic slotted screw - this is the stat setting screw.

When the chaffe-eaus are delivered they tend to be at max setting and a lot of the time the installer doesn't bother to adjust them. Turn the plastic screw slightly ( say 30 degrees) and your water should run at a cooler setting in a few hours

If the bottom of it doesn't look like the above, take a photo of it and send it to me as a jpeg to an email and I'll tell you how to adjust it.

Cheers.

And as the baby rabbit of hope emerges into the soft sunlight of happiness to be confronted with the double barrels of reality